Southern Baptists approve resolution criticizing new Boy Scout policy

Southern Baptists gathering this week for the group's annual conference in Texas on Wednesday voted in support of a resolution that opposes a new Boy Scouts policy allowing for openly gay members.

"The resolution also calls on the Boy Scouts to remove executive and board leaders who tried to allow gays as both members and leaders without consulting the many religious groups that sponsor Scout troops," The Assocated Press reports.

"While the resolution does not recommend that Southern Baptists drop ties with the Scouts, it expresses support for those churches and families that decide to do so."

The largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. with close to 16 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention joins other conservative Christian groups that are reconsidering their support of the Boy Scouts since the controversial policy change.

Following the vote Wednesday, Russell Moore, who serves as president for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention, tweeted that "Southern Baptists affirmed a wise, balanced, and gospel-focused Boy Scouts resolution. It's not frantic or angry."